From An Upper Cervical Chiropractic Perspective

Can your pain pill do this? 3 impossible before and after pictures

Are you trained to go the medicine cabinet any time you have a headache? Or neck pain? Or some other sort of ache or pain?

Here’s a secret: very few chronic aches and pains happen because of a shortage of Advil, Tyelenol, or Bayer in your blood stream.

In other words – there is a cause you aren’t fixing by covering up these body pains that keep coming back.

Is it my neck? Get the 27 point checklist instantly

27 signs your problem could be coming from your neck - a free checklist from an upper cervical perspective

And many, many cases of chronic pain do not improve, heal, or get better because chronic pain is a symptom of repeat body trauma.

Sometimes a big, big trauma, like major car accidents and skiing injuries. Sometimes a little trauma, like a bump in the head here. A fall on the ice there. Or, years of sitting without moving in front of a computer.

As this big and little trauma adds up, the body does what it can to adapt and heal. It’s better to bend than to break. So the spine locks in to protect what it can. And over time, everything shifts, pulled down by the weight of gravity.

Rather than expanding upward, the posture gets pulled downward. Nerves get stressed. Lymph doesn’t drain as well. Veins get backed up. And arteries have to push with more pressure.

Under stress, the neck straightens

One of the most common signs of this breakdown is the loss of the natural, healthy curve of the neck.

The normal, healthy appearance of the neck is to have a nice, gentle curve forward. The gentle curve balances the head, and protects the important nerve tissue in the neck.

Without the curve, there is more stress placed on the joints, ligaments, and muscles of the neck. As the curve is lost, the neck moves forward, placing up to 10 to 50 extra pounds of downward pressure on the spine.

If you start at the bottom bone, and trace the red lines with your eyes, you will see that they form a gentle curve.

As the neck becomes less stressed, the curve often comes back

You might be surprised at how quickly a neck changes position with the right spinal care. Gentle, specific chiropractic care, especially focused on the top of the neck – often leads to immediate changes in spinal alignment.

Yes, there are people who will tell you that chiropractors “don’t align anything”. They say alignment changes are impossible without a lot of therapy, exercise, and traction. That includes some misguided chiropractors. But it is hard to argue with pictures that show changes in the curve.

Now, the point of my practice isn’t to force your neck into a proper curve. But it is to release and unlock misalignments (in cooperation with your body’s intelligence) that keep your spine locked in pain and dysfunction.

Often, the neck starts moving into a proper curve. Sometimes very, very quickly. Even after only one correction.

Below are three before and after images that have been marked to help you see the changes in the curve. Most of these patients have a pretty severe loss of their neck curve. And the after picture isn’t perfect. But you can really see the amazing change they experienced in a matter of minutes. Something that some believe is impossible in the spine.

60 year old female with chronic pain behind right shoulder blade

Before (Left) – After (Right). 60 year old female with chronic pain behind the shoulder blade. Previous chiropractic care helped, but did not unlock the neck. After image after one correction, with immediate lessening of pain behind shoulder blade.

16 year old female with chronic headaches, neck pain, and fatigue after car accident

Before (Left) – After (Right). 16 year old female who began experiencing chronic headaches, neck pain, and fatigue after being rear ended in a motor vehicle accident. While there is more work to do, you can really see the change in her overall alignment after one correction.

33 year old female with chronic low back pain, responds to correction in neck

Before (Left) – After (Right). This 33 year old female had chronic low back pain and knee pain while running. The low back pain left after her first visit. Much of her spinal stress is seen in her before picture, which shows the start of a reverse curve at C4 and C5 – where the red lines begin to rotate out of line. The after image is after one correction. The curve hasn’t come back yet, but the lower neck has relaxed and moved forward, and this will allow the curve to come back over time.

Keep in mind, the point isn’t to force a curve back into the neck. The point is to release the trauma that has locked the spine into stress. This stress affects the muscles, ligaments, and joints. It can slow flow of lymph, veins, and arteries.
But more importantly, it creates constant and chronic background “noise” and stress on the spinal cord, affecting the nerve system.

These three images show that this spine stress can be released relatively quickly, creating a change in alignment and structure almost immediately. Especially in the neck.

So, no, your pain pill cannot do this. And if you hear anyone say that chiropractors are unable to really change alignment, email them the link to this page.

The right chiropractor, working at the right time, in the right place can help the body unlock more than most know.

(For those curious about the technique used in the this image, orthogonal x-ray measurements as taught by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association were combined with QSM3, a dynamic upper cervical chiropractic procedure.)

Dr. Zachary Ward first discovered the power of spinal care after watching his little brother heal from debilitating pain. Now he practices a unique form of chiropractic care that offers you the opportunity to experience your body in a new, freer way. Contact him via social media or via the contact form to request a ten minute health review. He also blogs at DrZWard.com.

Request Consultation - Ask Question? - Schedule

Get in contact with Dr. Zachary Ward at Life In Alignment

How can we help you today?

I have a question

I'm interested in scheduling a free consultation

What's your question?

Please send us your question below. Our correspondence is always confidential. But when you share personal health information via this email, it's not HIPAA safe due to the security limitations of most email providers. Please keep that in mind.

What kind of consultation?

We make a complimentary phone based consultation available for those requiring assistance to travel, and those traveling from more than 30 minutes away.

In office consultation

Phone based consultation

In office consultation - what days are you most available?

Please pick the day or days that are best.

Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

Phone consultation - what days are you most available?

Please pick the day or days that are best.

Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

In office consultation - what times are preferred?

Please pick the time or times that are best.

Between 9 AM and 12 PM

The lunch hour

Between 1 PM and 5 PM

After 5 PM

Phone consultation - what times are preferred?

Please pick the time or times that are best.

Between 9 AM and 12 PM

The lunch hour

Between 1 PM and 5 PM

After 5 PM

Email*

Be sure to use an email you use regularly to get confirmation your request went through.

TURGOR! This weird word can describe you. And your plants. Turgor in tissues is created by water balance Turgor is the scientific word for the balance balance between pliability and stiffness or rigidity in something living. It’s created by having a good balance of water inside the cells and outside the cells, creating equal pressure… Continue Reading

Share this:

In response to the new Will Smith movie “Concussion” – I recently wrote about my decision to not allow my sons to play football. And then I shared that decision on Facebook. It might have stirred up a little controversy. Based on my previous postings to my practice Facebook page – this post – far… Continue Reading

Share this:

How would you describe your health before you began receiving your spinal corrections? I was generally in good health other than having headaches, neck pain, and lower back pain. Went to my physician and former chiropractor without much relief. What is it that you heard or read that made you decide to choose my office… Continue Reading